One thing that the CSV engine allows for is the instantaneous data transfer from flat files to information accessible via SQL in MySQL. For example, imagine having the need to load a file containing 5 million records into a MySQL table that uses the MyISAM storage engine:

While MyISAM accepts the data pretty quickly, you can make all the data in the flat file instantly available to MySQL in the following manner. First, create a CSV table that mirrors the format of the incoming flat file:

Thus, you’ve effectively loaded 5 million records instantaneously into MySQL. The great thing is the same effect would be experienced if the file contained 10 million, 20 million, or 100 million records.